As football gets ever-more commercial, so the fans suffer - priced out of the grounds, subject to aggressive merchandising campaigns by clubs and TV companies alike. And as for the books; authorised club histories, ghosted autobiographies, sensationalistic tales of organised hooliganism - hardly worth browsing, let alone buying. Well, apart from 'Fever Pitch', but that only goes up to the early 90s, and is understandably Arsenal-centric. Enter 'The Fan'. Here is the modern game as seen from a relatively unbiased real fan's perspective - and what a fan. Supporting Carlisle United (home club) and Spurs (London club) comes as a secondary priority to Hunter Davies - his main aim is that, if there's a game being played and he's got a chance of getting to see it, he will make sure that he sees it. And there's also no aspect about the game that he won't mention in his 'New Statesman' column (this book being a compendium of his 'best' offerings from 1996/97 to 2002/03) - pies, David Beckham's haircuts, 'Sports Report' on Radio 5 Live (anyone else tried to get from the ground to the car before the theme tune starts? I know I have), Sky TV pundits, the toilets at old Wembley ... all English footballing life is here. Even down to the travails of trying to find a pub showing a particular game on a Tuesday night, and then trying to cocnentrate on watching said game while none of your fellow-drinkers are in the least bit interested. If you've ever done this, or camped out in front of the TV for the duration of a World Cup, you should read this book even if you never read another football book. Because here is a book by a fan, for the fans.

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5.0 out of 5 stars The Fan, 6 April 2009

By	N. Camp - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Very good book by an excellent author. All of Hunter's biographies are worth reading. He has a very amusing style of writing that keeps you interested from the first word on the first page to the last word on the last page.

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3.0 out of 5 stars For football fans who possess a conscience, 13 Jan 2009

By	Oldevers (Nottingham, UK) - See all my reviews

The Fan takes us through the seven seasons of football, from England's parks on Sunday mornings via the Football League, Premier League, La Liga and Europe to the major summer tournaments of recent years. Taken from Davies' football column in The New Statesman, the short anecdotal nature of each chapter makes it very easy to read and digest. Whether it be fans' trials, tribulations or triumphs, they are recounted, from dodging the wife in order to watch a League Cup match in peace to the unbridled joy of Munich in 2001, or concern over the more serious issues facing football. Because the author's love of football overrides the usual bias associated with us supporters, the opinions are expressed with a remarkable objectivity and no little humour.

Reading the diary-entry like pieces with the benefit of hindsight proves both amusing and interesting. Enabling the reader to scoff at some of Hunt's woeful football predictions (England to do well at Euro 2000, anyone?), while pondering and fretting about some of the off-field developments Davies brings to our attention. Whether they be the well-worn but still relevant subject of the treatment of fans by clubs, or his concerns over a cult of young men with too little education and too much disposable income that seems to have come home to roost this season like never before.

What I found most amusing was the "Groundhog Day" qualities of Hunt's first visit to Spurs each season. Every year Davies makes his return to London to find that his journey to White Hart Lane takes longer, the price of everything from his season ticket to his cup of tea has risen, his favourite player has been sold and his nauseating neighbours in the stands are already chanting for the manager to be sacked.

Hunter Davies' The Fan is easy reading about football and being a fan with a conscience. There are elements of watching football, on TV or at the ground, which will make a connection with supporters on several levels.

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